Report: FTX Co-Founder SBF Retains White-Collar Lawyer Who Represented Ghislaine Maxwell

On Dec. 6, 2022, the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) reportedly retained the attorney Mark Cohen, the lawyer that represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her recent sex trafficking case. SBF’s spokesperson further explained that the FTX co-founder is being consulted by a professor at Stanford Law School, David Mills.

The disgraced former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is reportedly being represented by Mark Cohen from the litigation firm Cohen & Gresser. Cohen is the well-known attorney that represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her sex trafficking case. Maxwell, a close friend of the now-deceased and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on five out of six counts which included the sex trafficking of a minor. She was sentenced to 20 years in June and still faces other charges. Cohen is a lawyer licensed in New York and Florida and the now convicted Maxwell was also represented by Christian Everdell, the attorney that prosecuted the Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Cohen’s representation of SBF was reported by Reuters after the news outlet was told the information by SBF’s spokesperson Mark Botnick. Reuters reached out to Cohen & Gresser and “Cohen could not be reached for comment,” the news publication detailed on Tuesday. Botnick further disclosed that SBF was being consulted by David Mills, a professor at Stanford Law. SBF’s father, Joseph Bankman, is also a Stanford Law professor, and the San Francisco Standard recently reported that the Stanford Law academic has canceled his previously scheduled classes at the university.

Semafor reported that the 30-year-old SBF was represented by Martin Flumenbaum at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison but that relationship has since ended. The San Francisco Standard’s Liz Lindqwister and Anna Tong highlight how “SBF is surrounded by a star-studded and ever-changing team of white-collar crime experts and legal bigwigs.” This is despite the fact that the former FTX CEO has said he was down to $100,000 and a single credit card. He also detailed in another interview that retaining a lawyer was one challenge he has been dealing with, but the white-collar litigation firms surrounding SBF suggest he’s had no problems seeking legal advice.

Cohen is the managing partner of his litigation firm and he operates the company’s New York office. The lawyer who represented Maxwell was also an assistant to the United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York. Besides Maxwell’s case, Cohen is also known for winning a case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that sought to prosecute a New York fund manager. Reuters report says that sources familiar with the matter have said the SEC and “Federal prosecutors in New York” have been investigating the FTX collapse.

What do you think about SBF reportedly hiring the attorney who represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her sex trafficking case? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.